I knew a woman who’d been married and divorced twice, but had no children. One day her boss dropped in to work with his wife and young children in tow and she was so taken by this darling family that she decided she wanted the same thing. As in, literally. She wanted that family.

The “old wife” had to go, of course.

The woman’s determination paid off and she acquired what she’d set out for; the husband abandoned his wife. The reasons offered were typical: he wasn’t happy and his wife wasn’t what he’d expected. Over the years she turned out to be argumentative, annoying, socially awkward, stubborn as hell, and she didn’t cook for him. Disabilities, that once made him feel like her rescuer, now irritated him and they frequently fought.

He started life over with the new woman, who was the complete opposite of “old wife”: perky, bubbly…